Suffering is huge, voters will vent their anger in elections: Akhilesh
The government’s decision to junk 500- and 1,000rupee notes has caused “huge suffering” to the common people who will vent their anger in the upcoming elections, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav said on Friday.
Speaking on the first day of the 14th Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, Yadav said the surprise decision to recall high-value bills had bolstered the Samajwadi Party ahead of state polls early next year.
“When you make common people suffer, they will vent their anger… because of the currency shortage, leaders of all parties will have to resort to the bicycle (the SP’s election symbol),” Yadav said to applause and laughter from the audience.
“Governments should work for people’s welfare by encouraging spending. But the BJP government has caused such difficulties to the common man. People are breaking down their ‘gullak’ (piggy banks) to meet daily needs,” Yadav said.
He rejected government claims that the currency switch will stamp out illegal cash, pointing to media reports about fake variants of even the new currency bills. “Fake debit and credit cards are also available in the market,” he added.
The 43-year-old leader said he had apprised the prime minister of the difficulties of ordinary people and that Narendra Modi had assured him that things will be brought under control.
“He told me that citizens should be encouraged to absorb technology,” Yadav said.
The UP chief minister has been one of the most vocal critics of the so-called demonetisation three weeks ago. He has alleged that farmers, poor and small traders have been the hardest hit by what he said was an ill-planned rollout of the move. Countering claims of BJP leaders that only the rich and corrupt were opposed to the demonetisation move, Yadav said he had not seen a single rich man standing in the queue outside banks or ATMs.
“It is common knowledge that bank officials visit homes of their valued customers to solve their issues,” he added.
Speaking about his initiatives to distribute laptops and smartphones, Akhilesh said his government had been the first to grasp the need to use IT tools.
In a veiled reference to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, the chief minister quipped, “Only some politicians have stood in the queue to draw money from the ATM!”